Dragon Age: Last Flight Deluxe Edition

Dragon Age fans will love the subject material in this. Don't be deterred that it's written by a non-BW writer! It's very good! Do you remember your Barkspawn (or however you named your mabari from Origins)? Imagine they got the Taint again and you couldn't find the cure. You went on a long quest to find a cure, but couldn't. They die. Oops, there goes my feels... You've heard about the stories of griffons and lack of them in Origins; heroic tales of Garahel, hero of the Fourth Blight, and his victory at Ayesleigh; how the denial of acknowledging the Fifth Blight as a Blight is due to, compared to what happened in the Fourth Blight, underwhelming. [Last Flight] wonderfully paints how dire the Fourth Blight was in episodic fashion by time jumping, just like Dragon Age II did. And most importantly, the narrative heavily features griffons. Whether you've played Origins or not, the griffons and what happens to them is how the narrative does a wonderful job on showing how time has changed, how horrible a Blight is on land and its inhabitants, and what the current age of Dragon Age has lost by driving the species to extinction. The story is carried superbly by characters, each with a sense of uniqueness, that also adds to existing lore of Dragon Age. The novel is split into two different timelines: the Exalted Age (ie the Fourth Blight) and the Dragon Age (ie by time the Inquisition officially forms and start to gain its power). However, Inquisition is never mentioned; the problems that happen in-game is hardly mentioned; there are no cameos from previous games (maybe slight winks and references), other tie-in novels, or comic books. It stands on its own in Maker-forsaken land of Anderfels. That's why this tie-in novel works so well and very strong beside what the author produced: the fans never have to worry about how this will affect their game. The novel stands up all on its own by how it uses up the rich world of Thedas, and how it adds to what the game never gave to the players. I feel like this is how tie-in novels should be, especially ones relating to video games. [Last Flight] elaborates about Wardens up in Anderfels, how living in Anderfels is like, how horrible the Fourth Blight was, who was Garahel, and what it was like to have griffons around. I don't know how this will affect DA4, but for now, the content of the story elaborates on existing rich lore of DA. And I really liked how the author painted the Fourth Blight. Pace is fast; you can finish this within a few days. Characters are not boring and well written. Some of the battle scenes were actually good and exciting (felt nostalgic to my first play of the last fight in Origins in some chapters *sniffles* ). I highly recommend this to any DA fans, whether you've played all three or just Inquisition. One personal nitpit is just maybe, juuuuuust maybe, the word "maybe" might be overused ;D

5/5 Love the book series for the added lore. I read the series a little out of order, starting with Tevinter Nights. I noticed maybe two typos, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed just getting more lore for the world. That being said! I loved the size of the physical book and floppy feel of that first one I read (about 5.5" x 8.2"). Finding the non-mass market versions of this book and the masked empire was annoying. Initially I bought the whole series (Tevinter Nights not included) in the boxed set for the cheaper price. When it arrived I realized it's the mass market version and I should've checked the reviews because it's not listed in any way to indicate its mass market paperback. I think it's somewhat of a normal thing to see Mass Market Paperback as a version when buying books on Amazon, so it was odd that this was an issue. Anyway, mass market really lacks that almost-hold-itself-open floppiness so I returned it. It wasn't cheaper to buy them separately, but I wanted the matching size I liked. Plus, I figured the *much* cheaper (near half the price of buying all of them separate) mass market versions would be exclusively sold in that boxset because they're cheaper for that smaller/mass produced reason. Well, they're not exclusive to it, and overall it feels a bit deceptive. There are duplicate listings for the books. Maybe it's only the masked empire and last flight, which were the ones I had trouble finding the 8" size I wanted. There was no proper way to search for the right version either because the prices of them aren't drastically different and there's no description to indicate one is the mass market and one is not. I'd urge anyone wanting that larger size to double check it, because the duplicate listings share the same reviews. The only difference is the size of the book. If the longest dimension is 6", it's the mass market. If it's 8", then it's the nice floppy size. It was really annoying ordering them separately only to find out three of them were the right size and two of them were the dinky mass market. So I had to return those two and then hunt down the larger size listing; sometimes through the "people also bought" section. In general this was a pretty chaotic experience due to the Amazon listings. I hope this helps anyone looking for the non-mass market paperback versions -insert melting smiley emoji-

The title of this review probably says it all, and was probably the only reason I chose to write this review :). Last flight is fifth book set in BioWare's Dragon Age "Expanded Universe", and also the second book "not written by David Gaider". As such, I would not recommend it to readers who are completely unfamiliar with the story setting, as most of the factions, and systems of the world are not that well explained. But, for someone familiar with Thedas, it is a very good read. Book is split into two timelines. First, taking place during 41st and 42nd year of the Dragon, 4 years after the ending of Dragon Age 2, and (so far) unspecified time before the events of upcoming Dragon Age Inquisition. The second, more important part, takes place during the 12 years of Fourth Blight. In the "present day" timeline, readers are introduced to a group of mages from city of Hossberg, who fled to Weisshaput, fortress of Grey Wardens, to seek refuge before Templars, who, after their alliance with the Chantry was annulled, hunt mages relentlessly, instead of protecting them. While waiting to become Wardens, the mages earn their keep by assisting in research in the library, one of these mages, Valya, discoveres journal of Warden Mage Isseya, who lived during the Fourth Blight. This journal open up the main part of the book, which is the second timeline I mentioned. Readers follow Isseya, who is, sadly, very "flat" character, showing very little to no emotion, except in the final years, where ramifications of her actions during the Blight hit her, and she starts to regret them and tries to undo them. Other characters, like her brother, are written as more of a "people", but they do not receive that much time in the book. However, while the characters may seem difficult to relate with, the rest of the book is very well written. Griffons, legendary flying mounts of the Wardens, are very well described, and reading the aerial combat scenes is a pleasure, with bolts of arcane energy flying left and right, while griffons perform daring maneuvers against darkspawn or even the mighty Archdemon itself. If you are a fan of the Dragon Age setting, I would certainly recommend the book. Otherwise, it is a nicely written fantasy, but it skips nearly every piece of world building, assuming that readers simply know what is what.

The mages and templars have been torn apart by the events in Kirkwall. Circles all over Thedas are in rebellion, but not all mages want a part in the slaughter. When given the option to join the Grey Wardens, some leap at the chance for protection, including a young elven mage name Valya from the Hossberg circle. The Wardens are skeptical about bringing the mages into the fold until they know everything they are capable of, so they are sent to the grand libraries of Weisshaupt to assist in searching for strange cases throughout history in which wardens acted oddly, or strange darkspawn were activity was reported. In her search, Valya discovers signs of elven magic that lead her to the unveiling of a lifetime–a detailed journal from the Exalted Age kept by Isseya, sister of the Garahel, the elven hero of the Fourth Blight. Isseya’s journal leads Valya down a path none have dared to question for more than five hundred years. What happened to the fabled griffons of legend who once carried Grey Wardens into fierce battle against the darkspawn? Effortlessly flowing between present-day Thedas and the Fourth Blight, Merciel leads readers on an amazing journey to find answers to questions every fan of the franchise has asked since the dawn of Dragon Age: Origins. She carries us through the blight, fighting darkspawn from aback beasts of legend, and before all is said and done, she gives us exactly what we want–answers and hope for the dawning of a new age. Everything about Last Flight captures the essence of Thedas, building upon the love I already have for the world, and suddenly my greatest hope is that Bioware keeps Liane Merciel on to further explore and fill the mundane world with so many Dragon Age books I can’t keep up. Highly recommend this to fans of the Dragon Age franchise. If you’ve played even one of the games and loved it, if you have a soft spot in your heart for Grey Wardens and there’s something about rampaging through a Blight in search of slaying an archdemon to save the world, this book is for you! Don’t hesitate. Don’t waffle. Don’t fear the breaking of canon. Just go pick up a copy of this book and lose yourself in the rich history of Thedas.

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan Dragon Age lore and especially the Grey Wardens. I even have a Grey Warden tattoo. Trust me when I say that this is not a book to introduce new fans to the series. Part of the story takes place during the Mage/Templar War after the events of Kirkwall and the rest of the story is during the Fourth Blight. You must be familiar with both of these in order to give this book a chance. That being said, I absolutely loved this book. I couldn't put it down and finished it in less than 2 days. There were 3 parts where I sobbed uncontrollably. A book hasn't done that to me in years. I've even went back to re-read my favorite parts a few times. Last Flight is different than the other Dragon Books. The Fourth Blight was brutal and it paces like a World War 2 novel. It goes into detail about the corruption that the darkspawn spread over their conquered lands and the remarkable speed of their advancement over Thedas. It also does a great job about the poor decision making of the civilians in the midst of the chaos of war. They were caught by surprise and in their confusion, they didn't seem to understand what was happening. In the middle, you have the honorable Grey Wardens and their majestic griffons. Nothing is sugar-coated in this book. Hard decisions must be made when in the face of annihilation. Decisions that will have a profound effect for centuries to come. The thing that really steals this book is the griffons. The part where Isseya says "Lift" for the first time and the detail about what it's like to be on the back of a griffon while taking off gave me chills. The bond that the griffons and their riders have is incredible. You also get to read about aerial combat between the Warden griffon riders and the Archdemon. I'll save the rest for you to read but trust me, this alone is worth reading the book for. There is so much more I want to type out in this review but I just can't spoil it. I really hope that anyone reading this review will get the same effect that I had. This is a great read if you are a fan of Dragon Age. However, if you're a Grey Warden fanatic like I am, it's a MUST READ! No seriously, just stop reading this review and start reading Last Flight. You'll thank me later.

I am an adamant lover of Dragon Age lore, so it would come as no surprise that I enjoyed reading this book. The action in it was described very well, and it was very detailed. Merciel also establishes the mood of the settings particularly well. If I focused, I had enough detail to feel as if I was present while only occasionally feeling overwhelmed. I was more invested in the characters, their actions, and how they interacted with one another. Isseya served as an interesting foil to her twin brother Garahel, and I found both their characters and relationship to be very compelling. The ramifications and the stakes of the book were very interesting, as well as getting an inside view of blood magic and how demons tempt mages on a daily basis, especially during a Blight. You also really feel the loss that the world felt with the mass extinction of the griffons. The key themes of this fantasy book are also relatable into the reality of our world if you delve into the book. (issues such as extinction being caused by the ignorance and carelessness of man, and the hope that future generations will learn from past mistakes, grow, and find a better way and preserve the beauty that still exists in this world.) Overall, it was a great read if you ​enjoy the games and are thoughtful about the lore and universe. Like everything in life, you get out of it what you put in. If you just want to know whats up with the wardens in the Anderfels during the Fourth Blight and/or during Inquisition, reading online summaries may serve you better.

Description said very good. And it is except that they put a sticker on the spine of the book

This book was wonderful; it gave a lot of history on the Wardens and their griffons. Very well written in a series of flashbacks from the present time of the mage/templar conflict back to the fourth Blight. The author did quite well keeping to the lore and filling in some missing holes. The book had the "feel" of the Dragon Age universe as well, which is important. In the beginning, I had a little trouble getting attached to the characters, but by the middle of the book I was pretty heavily invested in one of the main characters and her griffon. And then, as is typical with anything DA, it hit you right in the feels. If you're a fan of Thedas / Dragon Age then this book is a definite must-buy. The battle scenes are great and there are things to learn about the world that we didn't know. It was also a great way to get a peek at how the world was carrying on between Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. I truly hope the author is able to write more novels about the Dragon Age universe, and I'll be keeping an eye out for them.

I love the videogames and I love the book series. But, you don't really need to buy the videogames to enjoy the books, because they are quite good all on their own.

A great book bringing with it a deeper understanding of the world of Dragon Age. Captivating, exciting, and moving book!

I am in the middle of Dragon Age Veilguard, and I found this book provided necessary backstory to ....(spoiler alert!). It was written well and I enjoyed the characters. And who doesn't love cat-bird creatures? Great addition to anyone interested in Dragon Age lore.

Aucune dommage et tout semble en ordre.

This book doesn't add much to the current dragon age lore and isn't directly related to the main storyline of any games. Its like a side story but its a very good story...one that I enjoyed after reading all the other books and comics. If you're a hardcore fan of dragon age and especially the grey wardens then you'll enjoy this book. Otherwise it's not that important.